Chapter 9 Vocabulary

notepad: the evolution of typing

Memory: the persistence of learning overtime through the storage and retrieval of information.
flashbulb memory: a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment of event.
encoding: the processing of information into the memory system
storage: the retention of encoded information over time
retrieval: the process of getting information out of memory storage.
sensory memory: the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
short-term memory: activated memory that holds a few item briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.
long-term memory: the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
working memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
rehearsal: the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
spacing effect: the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long term retention that is achieved through massed study or practice.
serial position effect: our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
visual encoding: the encoding of picture images
acoustic encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
semantic encoding: the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
imagery: mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.
mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
chinking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
iconic memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
echoic memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
long-term potentiation: an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
amnesia: the loss of memory
implicit memory: retention independent of conscious recollection
explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare."
hippocampus: a neural central that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage.
recall: a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
recognition: a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test.
relearning: a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.
priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of a particular associations in memory.
deja vu: the errie sense that "I've experienced this before" Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
mood-congruent memory: the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
Proactive interference: the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
retroactive interference: the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
source amnesia: attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about,read about, or imagined.